as in masculine
having qualities or traits that are traditionally considered inappropriate for a girl or woman
her father thought that ice hockey was a little too tomboyish for her, but her mother and older brother encouraged her to take it up
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Recent Examples of tomboyish
But yesterday, Rihanna did a sartorial 180, ditching her tomboyish ’fit for a girly, baby pink look.
—
Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2025
Jacobson lends her voice to Shira Schwooper, the tomboyish middle child and only daughter.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2025
Jacobson lends her voice to Shira Schwooper, the tomboyish middle child and only daughter.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tomboyish
Adjective
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Republicans responded by leaning into their ideal image as the masculine party, with appeal that cut across racial barriers.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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Convincing him to take him along, Veneno is drawn into the hyper-masculine world of long-haul trucking across northern Mexico.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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That would have been unladylike.—
Lucy Worsley
September 16,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
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The new girl’s unladylike bravado ensures that she will be asked to board with the Brown girl.—
Chris Bohjalian,
Washington Post,
17 Aug. 2023
Adjective
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Dior’s collection referenced the H-line created by its founder Christian Dior for Fall-Winter 1954-1955 – a controversial silhouette at the time as its flattened shape appeared, for some, unfeminine.—
Alice Pfeiffer,
CNN,
28 Jan. 2025
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The intention behind this final postcard may have been, yet again, to paint the fight for suffrage as absurd, to make suffragists seem like willful, unfeminine animals.—
Natalie Kinkade,
JSTOR Daily,
25 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tomboyish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tomboyish. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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